Dig out the sparkly black number, endure an entire week with all the office talking about who is eyeing up Dave from accounts, spend a long, awkward evening getting drunk while trying to avoid your boss's bad breath, then discover a photocopy of someone's hairy bottom on the staff noticeboard the next morning. It can only mean one thing: it's office party season, and the gossip mill is doing overtime. We might be living in austerity Britain, but most workplaces are still planning on hosting some kind of event to celebrate making it through the year. So it's not just why Carole really thought she could get away with wearing that minuscule mini that's the top topic for debate at workplaces around Britain this month, but why Bob thinks he's so good at his job, who'll be up for promotion and whether the boss's drunken admissions really are true.

But don't feel so guilty: gossip isn't always bad. According to Jenny Cole, lecturer in social psychology at Staffordshire University, it can be good for both employees and companies – especially over the festive period. "There's something special about Christmas as a time at work," she explains. "Everyone starts the wind-down and starts to act in a way that is more relaxed. This might mean we are better able to glean information from people as they let their guard down.

"With Christmas parties, I think companies assume that they're just a good place for employees to let their hair down and feel like they are being 'treated' by their workplace. But actually, the office party can be much more interesting than that."

Cole points out that "everyone who's been to a good Christmas party can probably remember that the post mortem the next day is almost as much fun as the party", and says that's a key to the enduring impact of office soirees. "When people are more relaxed, we are more likely to learn about the 'real' them – a drop or two of sherry often sees to that – and when this information is shared the next day, we can learn much more information, which we can use strategically at a later date," Cole explains. "Gossip about the office Christmas party can be a source of information that can help to bring workplaces or work teams together."

Cole's research developed after she completed a PhD analysing how humans judge people based on what they say about others. Since then, she has quizzed 160 undergraduates about their self-reported tendency to engage in gossip, with the respondents then filling in a questionnaire about their wellbeing. "I found a relationship between people's gossip tendency and their perceived social support, especially from friends," Cole reports. "That then fed through to higher self-esteem and satisfaction with life."

In a second study, the lecturer found that when she asked people to describe others, their self-esteem was raised by their saying positive things about others, and reduced when they were critical. "The research challenges the idea that gossip is a bad thing," says Cole.

"There are lots of reasons why our social groups need gossip – we can learn about acceptable behaviour, and compare ourselves to others to make ourselves feel better, and we can learn who is a good or bad ally, all without talking to the subject of the gossip at all. Also, it makes us feel closer together, and helps us build and maintain social bonds, not least because gossip is entertaining. If co-workers have better social bonds, it helps to promote team cohesion, and since teams that work well together are more productive, companies can win from gossip, too."

Cole says that not all gossip is equally beneficial, however: other research in the field has shown that it has to remain secret from the source, and must be phrased very carefully. "All of the benefits of gossip are dependent upon the person being gossiped about being unaware of what is being said," she reports. "If they are aware, then obviously that causes distress for the target of the gossip and conflict within the social group. And my research also indicates that trying to verbally distance yourself by saying things like, 'well, I don't have much to do with her but...' can help to avoid the negative talk backfiring on the gossip." Those listening to gossip can also profit, Cole says, but only if "they can compare themselves to the unfortunate target of the gossip favourably".

Despite her detailed analysis of the benefits of gossip, however, Cole is still worried about what people think about her work. "I always fear that it will be seen as a flaky or trivial topic," she admits.

But she believes she has been successful at highlighting the importance of gossip as a social and psychological concept. "In times gone by, gossip was described as 'trivial women's talk', but nowadays, once I start to point out the ways in which gossip is important, people can relate and take it more seriously," she says.

The academic is also looking forward to Staffordshire University's own office party: "I always go, and some years the post mortem gossip has started before I've even got to bed," she laughs. "Just like any workplace, we need to know what goes on when we are not there, to work out who we can trust and rely on – and who we can't."

So, judging by Cole's findings, this year's office party might be a good time to pull the boss aside and tell him that all those breaks spent whispering in the loo with colleagues might not be losing the company money, but in fact boosting its profitability.

Cole has just one proviso. "It does depend on how much company time is spent on gossiping," she admits. "While a happy workforce is a productive workforce, if all we did was gossip, then we wouldn't get much else done."